Tahoe Meadows

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada

Tahoe Meadows is a hiking and biking trail in Washoe County, Nevada. It is within Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It is 0.3 miles long and begins at 8,570 feet altitude. Traveling the entire trail is 0.5 miles with a total elevation gain of 40 feet.

Tahoe Meadows is a hiking and biking trail in Washoe County, Nevada. It is within Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It is 0.3 miles long and begins at 8,570 feet altitude. Traveling the entire trail is 0.5 miles with a total elevation gain of 40 feet. This trail connects with the following: Tahoe Rim Trail and Tyrolean Downhill.

"Much of this section of the Tahoe Rim Trail closely follows the crest of the Carson Range, affording travelers excellent views of the Lake Tahoe Basin to the west and the Great Basin to the east. Aside from a moderate climb from Tahoe Meadows, most of the trail follows an easy grade to Twin Lakes, a pair of shallow ponds that shrink considerably over the course of the average summer. Even considering the pleasantly graded trail, the 19-mile round-trip distance makes this suitable only for hikers in good condition. Lesser mortals can pick a shorter turnaround point and still be more than satisfied with the superb vistas. Although the largest part of this trail passes across sandy soil ill suited for wildflowers, the initial segment across Tahoe Meadows is an amateur botanist’s delight."

"The paths that meander around Tahoe Meadows are covered with footprints and signs of mammals, the air is ?lled with songbirds and raptors, and the ground is alive with masses of wild?owers and trees.

This hike has no particular destination, and it’s not going to get you anywhere other than familiar with nature. A natural-history ?eld guide would be a welcome companion on this walk, because you’ll have a chance to use it often."

"Brilliant singletrack, spectacular views, and commercial shuttles make this the most popular bike route along the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). Riding here is nearly a social event. To limit congestion and keep other trail users happy, bike this segment of the TRT on even-numbered days only. Ride through thin alpine forests and maneuver around granite boulders on hard-packed trail with some serious sandy sections. The views move back and forth between the verdant Tahoe Basin on the west and the contrasting Washoe Valley to the east. The overall grade to Tunnel Creek Road is undulating and gradual, strewn with rocky step-ups and drops.

After crossing Tunnel Creek Road, the climb is unrelenting to the high point near the Marlette Overlook. From there, it is mostly downhill or level until the end. While the Flume Trail is one of the flattest trails in Tahoe, it is narrow, with some serious drop-offs. The Tunnel Creek Road is steep, wide, and sandy—a good reason not to start from this end. For a more moderate journey, ride from Tahoe Meadows directly to the Flume Trail and end up at Spooner Lake."

"Meandering through a lovely meadow beneath the summits of Slide Mountain and Mount Rose, this flat, friendly interpretive route is perfect for families, wildflower enthusiasts, and view seekers.

Easy and scenic, the Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Trail explores stands of stately evergreens and a verdant meadow filled with wildflowers in season. The trail is at nearly 8,700 feet and features vistas of high ridges stretching south to Lake Tahoe, as well as up-close views of the stony summits of Slide Mountain and Mount Rose to the east. The first part of the trail is accessible to hardy wheelchair users. Families with small children, whether in a stroller, a backpack, or toddling, can manage the entire loop."

"There are spectacular vistas of lake tahoe along much of this section of trail. some of these are the most stun- ning views to be found anywhere along the tahoe rim trail. In particular, the Christopher’s Loop (Herlan Peak) spur trail offers especially remarkable vistas. The trail provides views on both sides of this north-south oriented ridge, of lake tahoe to the west, and of the Great basin to the east. While the thin de- composed granite soils along the trail limit wildflower growth, several locations have flowers in abundance.

This is especially the case if you take a side trip down to marlette lake, where the wildflower display is one of the best to be found anywhere. if you are looking for yellow and orange aspen leaves, it is hard to beat the bounty of leaves at snow Valley, marlette lake, and spooner lake."

"Meandering through a lovely meadow beneath the summits of Slide Mountain and Mount Rose, this flat, friendly interpretive route is perfect for families, wildflower enthusiasts, and view seekers.

Easy and scenic, the Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Loop circles through a verdant swath of grass and wildflowers at nearly 8,700 feet, offering access to stands of stately ever-greens, a chance to study a habitat that lies dormant under a thick blanket of snow for much of the year, and vistas of high ridges that stretch south to Lake Tahoe and up to the stony summits of Slide Mountain and Mount Rose."

"The Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Loop Trail is a wheelchair-accessible path offering a fine opportunity to experience a part of verdant, subalpine Tahoe Meadows. Not only will the wheelchair- bound enjoy this loop, but families with small children will appreciate the wide, gently graded, 1.2-mile path as well.

The trail loops around the upper, northeast finger of Tahoe Meadows at 8,700 feet, exposing users to a lush meadowland environment full of verdant plants, colorful wildflowers, and trickling streams, bordered by a light forest of lodgepole pines. The Carson Range peaks of Slide Mountain and Mount Rose provide a fine backdrop to the scenery-rich meadows."

"Tahoe Meadows is a high elevation Meadow (8,870 feet) covered in wildflowers and marbled with numerous small tributaries. The meadow is bordered by a lodgepole pine forest and rolling hills while Mount Rose towers above in the east. This loop trail crosses various bridges and is wheelchair accessible.

The Lake Tahoe Basin lies in central California and Nevada onthe western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is nestled in a deep valley, surrounded by forest and 10,000-foot mountain peaks. Its dramatic topography includes forested glacial valleys, rugged granite mountains, volcanic buttes, endless alpine lakes, four national forests, and four wilderness areas."

Recent Trail Reviews

Amazing single track and views. The shuttle service out of Spooer Lake is the way to go since this is a 25 mile point to point. There is a bailout point about midway at Tunnel Ck that will drop you down to the highway at the old Ponderosa where you can pick up the shuttle back to Spooner. I highly recommend this as a must do Tahoe ride.

Anything on the Tahoe Rim Trail can be considered spectacular, but this one with the shuttle (http://www.theflumetrail.com/shuttle/) is fantastic. 25 miles with basically no net elevation gain or loss (about 2k up and 2k down) till you hit the end of the flume, then a 2000 foot jeep road descent down to your car. views and trail are both first-rate. do not miss this one (ride on even days only, though)!

We grabbed the shuttle from Spooner Lake to Tahoe Meadows. The TRT section to Tunnel Creek was FANTASTIC. Some climbing, but mostly nice descents at high altitude with rock steps and small jumps everywhere. Nothing huge, but a bit technical. From the Tunnel Creek we dropped down to the Flume Trail to Marlett Lake. Here the trail is smooth and easy with some amazing scenery...don't look too hard while riding...1500-2000ft dropoffs in places! From Marlett Lake its a short climb then a wide fast dirt/sandy road down to Spooner. Three distinct types of riding all at high altitude with the best scenery anywhere. I'm going back soon!

I spent nearly as much time driving as running. Staying in Incline Village had me seeking trail access closer to the lake. Turtle Creek Rd is closed to the public and should be listed as such on the trail information. After looking for access nearest the lake for 30 minutes, I finally decided that I would shoot for the sure thing. I drove up Nevada State Hwy 431 to Tahoe Meadows, parked, then began. The meadow is vast and as green as the sky was blue. One mile of running the meadow, hopping streams in the sun made the shade of the forest welcome. Completely alone in the wilderness gives one the slight fear of bear mauling but I sang to the jingle of my shoe bells and no human; let alone bear, can tolerate that. Uphill through the trees for two miles and my energy faded equally due to unfamiliar altitude and late night blackjack and beer the night prior. I flipped the u-turn and came back the same path until I reached the parking lot. As an introductory run on the TRT, I was satisfied. I had to seek out access, ran only six or so miles, saw none of the lake but did get some lovely visuals. Knowing the trail is here and circles the lake, I will make return another day for a superior experience.